nest boxes

[woody walloper]

what birds have you got in your nest boxes.we have got great tits this year , makes a change from blue tits.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Nothing this year!

[Mice!]

Me and my daughter made one last year? We've got blue tits going in for the first time this year, she's made up.

Finish the green house this weekend then make some more I think.

[washerboy]

Great tits, last year box was up three hours before they used it. Same box and in use again. 

We have gold finches building against our compressor, it's usually a great place for the black birds nesting. 

[peck]

Robins nest in the bbq with 4 young and sparrows in the nest box that's been up for 3 years without any previous occupants.

[strimmer_13]

Only last night put a load up i made in this time off around the public areas. Put them up in heavy foliage but with a site line where I can see them from roughly 20mtr away. I'm a bit late but run this thread next year 👍

[Walker570]

I have around eight or ten dotted around my wood and here in the yard. I know two at least have occupants and both blue tits. Those two I can see from the cabins, the others are tucked out of sight away from the access roads and I only visit them in winter in case they need maintainance. They all get used for sure.

[hawkfanz]

blue tits,my boxes are pieces of plastic drain pipe,suitably modyfide to resemble holes in tree,hung in hawthorn hedges at botom of garden,

 

[johnphilip]

We have 3 sparrows think there last years young , they have taken over last years house Martins nest . What a mess they are making dried grass hanging out of it . Was watch one collect the dried grass  some bits about a foot long . Was fun watching them pull it out of the ground and try to fly with it .

Not seen a house Martin yet this year  , but they are ment to be in the area . Maybe they have seen what these young sparrow have been upto , and deside to go elsewhere  😀

[discobob]

The dogs have missed their clipping due to the lockdown so the wife has had a pass at them, put the fur out and the birds are absolutely loving it for their nests. Our trouble is the Magpies and the Rooks (ravens?? can never tell the difference) who are ripping the matting out the wall baskets at the front of the house - soil everywhere.

We only have one box up but it has blue tit's in there.

I plan to build a shed with a pent roof sloping from right to left going down - and then putting some holes on the high side with nest boxes on the inside. It's only 7*7 to replace an existing shed (has a very good base and I can't be bothered extending it for anything different)

[woody walloper]

Going to put more up for next year. got loads of timber about.

[Dougy]

I put 2 box's up years ago and no sign of anything at all in them. Ive had Robins nesting in some stacking bins with screws and all sorts in, he's moved house but cant find out where it is. Blackbirds in the hedge, with the odd Great Tit, and on the odd occasion a Sparrow hawk takes something out of the garden.

[FOXHUNTER1]

I have a blackbird busy building in my ivy at present , great watching her in and out all day.

[ShootingEgg]

Put box up when we moved in this year, nothing as yet in the box though. 

[oowee]

Blue tits in the house on the Ash tree and robbins in the box in the hedge. Nothing in the one on the Chesnut. This last one has never been used i might try moving it it's been up for 5 years. 

[old'un]

Have a bird box with a camera inside, fascinating watching the blue tits build their nest, put some mealworms in a small container in the garden, they love them but so do all the other birds and the resident Hedgehogs.

Seen my first young wood pigeon in the garden today, looks like its only been off the nest a few days.

[ratchers]

Got sparrows in again, very busy back and forward with dry grass etc.

Have lost the last few clutches to a magpie so watching carefully.

[JKD]

We've had great tits in our single home-made nest box 4 years out of five,,, 2nd year nothing, other years good,,,, or great even 😊

Elsewhere on the property we've had,,,, other great tits, blue tits, blackbirds, starlings, chaffinch, goldfinch, wren, robin, dunnock, sky lark, wood pigeon, stock dove, pheasant, partridge, jackdaws and my favourite,,,, little owls, for three years on the trot 😁

All those in the trees and bushes etc on a 3 acre plot, so don't need nest boxes really 🙂

A tip for those with nest boxes without any residents. The hole size and box size/depth is all important 😉 Plenty of advice if you do an internet search 👍

[NatureBoy]

Have a semi wild garden, plenty of ivy and creepers on walls roofs, fences and sheds. Blue and great tits in boxes. Woodies nesting in fir tree. First dunnock and wagtail nests got predated by jackdaws. Robins nest by window hatched out Monday and green finches nesting in privet hedge. A wren visits most days and expect gold and chaffinches to nest in budliea and apple tree like previous years when there's a bit more leaf cover. Unusually no blackbirds or sparrow this year. Blackbirds have not been doing well my way. Hear a song thrush morning and evening and have seen a mistle thrush gathering food, so nest nearby. Seen more swallows and martins this year. Heard and seen several whitethroats chiffchaff's and blackcap round the fields in past week. No nightingale yet. . . . .  Old walking boots/wellies etc make great alternatives to nest boxes. wedged or fixed in trees and shrubs. top can be left open or drawn to with laces to attract different birds. Had spotted flycatcher in an old DM the other year. If you have put fake woodcrete boxes up for house martins without success, make the entrance hole bigger so they can visit easy and build the entrance how they like it.  . . . One thing about lockdown we get to slow down and enjoy the nature in and around our gardens.    NB

[Mice!]

2 hours ago, JKD said:

tip for those with nest boxes without any residents. The hole size and box size/depth is all important 😉 Plenty of advice if you do an internet search 👍

Wouldn't have thought of that, cheers

[NatureBoy]

Hummingbird hawk moths  in garden a while ago. Earliest i have ever seen them. Must be over wintering rather than migrants i guess? That why it good to keep part of your garden wild. They making most of dandelions. . . .Also pays to fix nest boxes out of full sun and entrance away from prevailing wind. No need to put perch on front as this only helps predators perch when attacking nests. Metal plates round holes will help deter squirrels and great spotted woodpeckers. Hole/box size not overly important as they nest in all sorts of natural holes and places. Tits nest in the old boots and wellies i put out. Blue tits over the road from mine nesting in top of a traffic sign post. I clean most boxes out after season. Others say don't bother.   NB

[JKD]

55 minutes ago, Mice! said:

Wouldn't have thought of that, cheers

No problem,,,, just for reference, a blue tit will require a hole of only 25mm,,,, great tit 28/30mm. Blackbird/Robin and similar usually prefer slotted letterbox type entrances 👍

[Velocette]

Just seen today a pair of nuthatches taking material into our nest box in the garden. Regularly see them on the peanut feeders and bird table but never before in the nest box !

[JKD]

3 minutes ago, Velocette said:

Just seen today a pair of nuthatches taking material into our nest box in the garden. Regularly see them on the peanut feeders and bird table but never before in the nest box !

Wow, that is unusual ! Usually quite a shy bird,,,, let us know how they get on 😉

[Velocette]

If I can get the camera set up to see through the hawthorn branches, just coming into leaf, I'll try for some pictures. The birds themselves are quite bold round here and are a fairly regular sight, flying a little like a Kingfisher with fast wing beats and a slight dipping in flight.